Exploring the world with Enable

Everyone dreams of exploring the world. For people with disabilities, Enable Travel makes this dream a reality. Catering to every requirement to ensure a memorable vacation, Enable Travel leaves no stone unturned, encouraging its travellers to maintain a #CanDo attitude. This World Disability Day, three avid travellers talk about their journey with Enable, their experiences and a few travel tips they've learned along the way!

Preeti MongaCorporate Trainer

What are the challenges you've faced as a traveller?As a traveller, it's easy to get scared when you’re exploring, especially if you’re unable to see. It could be because your environment is unfamiliar and unfriendly – I never truly know where my next step will take me. Unfortunately, my independent mobility isn’t very good either. Keeping this is mind, I like to be prepared when I’m travelling for work or leisure. As a corporate trainer, I travel frequently, and require pick-ups and drops. While I rely on Enable Travel now, there have been instances in the past where the people I’ve coordinated with have not followed up on certain requirements. One such incident happened in Mumbai, where the organisation promised a pick-up and drop to the airport. When I was heading back, they hailed a cab and expected me to travel unaccompanied. It was quite a scary situation because I didn’t entirely know where I was and I was expected to just trust this random driver. A situation like this was enough reason for me to almost decide to never travel alone again. That decision was in direct conflict with the fact that I absolutely love to travel. I truly feel like I am in my element when I am travelling, but the uncertainty that accompanies it is a challenge. Another issue is when your travel companion fails to comprehend what you’re missing out on and is unable to describe the world around you. It’s as simple as saying ‘There is a beautiful, huge bird, with a long neck. It has white feathers and black specks at the end.’ That explanation helps me identify the bird in question as opposed to just telling me that it’s an ibis. But, sometimes, these descriptions are just reduced to ‘There’s a flower over here and a bird over there’, which provides me with no insight. Sometimes, even your family members get so irritated with you; they often avoid telling you things, because that is sure to be followed by a plethora of questions. You end up missing out on so much and end up fighting on a holiday.

How has Enable Travel helped you achieve your travel dreams?Enable Travel enables you to experience everything. Something I truly appreciate about their travel companions is the way they respond to you. If I am curious or they think there is something that might interest me, they make the effort to take me to that spot or explain the imagery. The people who guide you are very well trained and, more importantly, friendly. It's never a situation where they give you instructions and then narrate information robotically. They treat you like a co-traveller. Believe me, there’s a huge difference between travelling with a guide and with a co-traveller. And, if you’re a woman travelling, they will provide you with a lady to help you, putting you at ease. While I am not fussy about that detail, some people are. Enable takes all these little things into consideration, right down to them explaining where you are to them drawing on your hand for a clearer picture. It’s these things that makes the experience rich. In fact, when I went to Kanha, it was the first time I was visiting a tiger reserve. My Enable guide ensured that we attended this wonderful sound-and-light show. It painted such a vivid image in my mind’s eye of a tiger stalking its prey, of the rustling of leaves, of the kill and of the predator chomping down on its prey – the whole experience was supreme.

What are some travel tips and tricks you'd like to share?1. Always make sure that you’re travelling with a person, organisation or a company that understands you. 2. If you’re visually impaired, pack comfortable clothes and avoid extensions like dupattas. It’s important for you to be totally in control and to keep your hands free. 3. If you use a white cane, ensure that you have a back-up one, just in case. 4. When it comes to your cellphone, make sure you can string it across your neck. Also, carry a spare mobile. While chargers are handy, if you’re out and your phone dies, a plug point might not always be available. A spare phone ensures you have a back-up mode of communication, no matter what. 5. The most important tip, according to me, is to be vocal. Ask for help, ask questions, ask for information. It's the best way to ensure that you don’t miss out on anything!

Shama Noorani Chaudhary Sales/PR Professional

What are the challenges you've faced as a traveller?As far back as I can remember, my passion to travel has almost always come gift wrapped with a boundary, sometimes small, sometimes not, but the challenge has always been exhilarating. I love looking back at my ‘adaptive creativity’ in some instances, my sheer tenacity to stand up for what I believed in in others, post my initial panic! ‘Where do I begin’ comes to mind as I try to decide which of my experiences I can share with you, as I would require a few pages, rather than a specific number of words to record them all!I discovered the hidden ‘travel activist’ bent of my character while travelling to Paris via Rome in the early 1980s. We were assigned seats in the last row of the aircraft, which was not an issue, but I refused to be bodily carried from the front to the rear of the aircraft, as the rods in my back would not be able to withstand that. I requested the cabin crew to provide me with a seat closer to the entrance, but, instead, the airline made us disembark, flying off with our luggage, and advised us to catch another flight. I sued the airline in the days when the word ‘sue’ was easily the same as ‘sew’, but did receive reimbursement for one Rome-Paris ticket!Another incident that pops into my mind took place in a five-star Delhi hotel earlier this year. As always, I was booked into a wheelchair-friendly room, but, the habituated traveller that I am, rolled towards the the most important room, the bathroom, to see if it was truly ‘accessible’. I was horrified to see the fixed grab rails running behind the WC, realising that my toilet chair would not fit over the bowl. The hotel management had no clue how to help and requested me to suggest a way out. My advice was to temporarily disconnect the grab rail behind the WC, which they did, saving me from moving to another hotel and helping any other wheelchair guest in the future!

How has Enable helped you to achieve your travel dreams?I have always wanted to help other disabled people to experience the heady buzz of travel, the getting to know more about themselves, and about different cultures and people, the exhilaration of achieving their travel dreams like I have. Working with Enable Travel not only allowed me to achieve all these and more, but it also meant I was doing my little bit towards India’s push towards becoming inclusive. The hotels we have audited with a fine-toothed comb would assure the disabled traveller of a comfortable, inclusive place to stay. The ramps, amphibious chairs, inclusive guides, accessible vehicles and the considerable investment made by our company ensure that the disabled traveller has a fun-filled, exciting and worry-free holiday. In my two years with Enable Travel, I have rediscovered myself and tapped into the hidden capabilities I am blessed with, right from writer, to sales and PR!

What are some travel tips and tricks you’d like to share?There are some things that travel with me wherever I go:-1. My over-the-toilet chair, which doubles up as a shower chair as I don’t trust the ones screwed into the wall.2. The travel sling I keep seated on, which enables me to be lifted on and off my chair, without discomfort or being inappropriately touched.3. Bath mats with suction pads – these help not only in the bathroom, but also help me stand on any flooring without slipping.4. And lastly, but most important, human assistance!

Virali ModiYouth Ambassador for Enable Travel

What are the challenges you've faced as a traveller?I think the biggest challenge I’ve faced is accessibility and the difficulties around it. And, regardless of accessibility, the unwelcoming nature of the natives is what has always angered me, especially in cities that lack accessibility in and out of India.

How has Enable helped you achieve your travel dreams?I went to Thailand through Enable and I got to experience feeding elephants, holding a scorpion, snakes and tiger cubs in an accessible environment. I also went on a cruise, something I thought I’d never be able to do because of inaccessibility. Thankfully, everything was accessible and I had the help I needed.

What are some travel tips and tricks you'd like to share with us?I think the biggest tip is to have fun. Of course, take care of yourself and don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with, but don’t forget to have fun. Life is really short, so try to make the best of your experiences.